As a beauty editor and serial YouTube-tutorial binge-watcher, I love a good makeup challenge. So when I was recently challenged by Paypal a...

I Created 3 Totally Different Beauty Looks Using Only $25 Worth Of Drugstore Makeup

As a beauty editor and serial YouTube-tutorial binge-watcher, I love a good makeup challenge. So when I was recently challenged by Paypal and Venmo to create three different beauty looks using the same $25 CVS makeup haul, I was immediately on board.

There are two things I quickly learned upon taking on this challenge: 1) $25 in beauty products can go a lot of different ways. After perusing all the options in the CVS beauty aisles, I paid with my Venmo QR code and walked out of the store with three colorful items — a coppery eyeshadow palette, a creamy coral lipstick, and a baby-pink matte lipstick.

2.) Limitations, I learned, promote creativity. Only able to work with three products, I found myself innovating way more than I normally would have if I had access to every item in my makeup bag. From using lipstick as blush to brown eyeshadow for faux freckles, I resorted to a few tricks that I had never tried before, and I was pleasantly surprised at the results — and range of the final looks.

See how it all went down in the slides ahead. Plus, if you're feeling inspired to try out this challenge for yourself, we've got a pro tip: Shop your beauty haul in-store at CVS using the PayPal or Venmo QR code payment feature and get $10 cash back on your first purchase.

Gold Rush


A wash of gold eyeshadow paired with a bright, coral lip is the ultimate summer beauty combo, in my book. First, I applied a shimmery gold eyeshadow all over my lids, then went in with a darker gold shade at the outer edges to create some depth. (Skipping the mascara here, I found, helped keep it all from feeling too overdone.) Next, I swiped on the coral lipstick — with surprisingly great color payoff — to finish off the look. Whenever I use a bright lip color like this, I find that I can get away with slightly over-lining my lips without it looking too obvious, especially around my cupid's bow.

Graphic Eye


A winged eye look is typically something I would create with a sharp, liquid liner, but I love how this smoky cat-eye turned out using only eyeshadow. With a thin, angled brush, I drew a thick, graphic wing from the outer corners of my eyes up toward the end of my eyebrows using the darkest shade from my eyeshadow palette. I extended the shadow down past the inner corners of my eyes, as well, and tight-lined my lower lash line to add contrast against the whites of my eyes. To finish the look, I went with a nude-pink matte lipstick — instead of, say, a classic red — which I thought felt a bit cooler here.

Strawberry Flush


This fresh-faced, dewy-blush beauty look is not not inspired by a certain magazine editorial I keep saved in my IG "beauty inspo" folder at all times. Using the coral lipstick as blush, I tapped product high up onto my cheekbones and blended it in with my fingers. I applied my DIY blush over the bridge of my nose to achieve that just-back-from-the-beach flush (the only type of "sunburn" this beauty editor will allow). I tapped any leftover pigment from my finger onto the center of my lips for a semi-matte, popsicle-stain finish. Finally, I ran some water over a thin, angled brush and dipped it into brown eyeshadow to stamp on some faux freckles around the bridge of my nose.

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